1,720,976 research outputs found
Medicinal plants and health in human history: from empirical use to modern Phytotherapy
Full text linkPhytotherapy is the science that deals with the treatment and prevention of diseases through medicinal plants and herbal products. The use of herbs as medicine is the oldest form of healthcare known to humanity and has been used in all cultures throughout history. It is known that even today over 80% of the world population depends on herbal medicines. The quality of herbal medicines is believed to be directly related to its active principles, but herbal medicines can be variable in their composition. Therefore, it is necessary to use an extract that is well defined in its chemical composition and in the quantity of specific active principles; and actually, to obtain constant efficacy and safety, standardized medicinal plant extracts are being used. Clinically confirmed efficacy and best tolerability and safety of standardized or quantified medicinal plant extracts are the key for a successful phytotherapic approach
Piante medicinali per la cura dell'Herpes labiale Medicinal plants for the treatment of labial Herpes
No full textHerpes simplex is a very widespread virus: ithas in fact been estimated, thanks to serological investigations, that almost all of the world population (90-95%) is a carrier and, as such, isable to transmitit.
Of this, about 40-45%, following the first infection, undergoes recurrent manifestations of coldsores,
interspersed with periods of latency. Many studies have shown that natural substances suchas phenols,
flavonoids, alkaloids and terpenes have strong antiviral properties. To date, 5 plant species have been
identified capable of carrying out proven antiviral activities against HSV, and which in the future could
be used to counter the spread of herpes simplex virus type 1: Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Melissa officinalis
L., Melaleuca alternifolia (Maiden &Betche) Cheel, Echinacea spp. e Mentha x piperita L.
Red Yeast Rice or Lovastatin? A Comparative Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy Through a Multifaceted Approach
Full text linkThe increasing use of red yeast rice (RYR) as a natural supplement to manage blood cholesterol levels is driven by its active compound, monacolin K (MK), which is chemically identical to the statin drug lovastatin (LOV). Despite its growing popularity, concerns persists regarding the safety and efficacy of RYR compared to pure statins. This study aimed to evaluate the phytochemical composition, pharmacological effects, and safety profile of various RYR samples in comparison with LOV. RYR samples with different MK content were analyzed using HPLC-DAD to quantify monacolins and other bioactive compounds. The inhibitory activity on HMG-CoA reductase was assessed through an enzymatic assay, while pharmacokinetic properties were predicted using in vitro simulated digestion and in silico models. In vitro cytotoxicity was evaluated in intestinal, hepatic, renal, and skeletal muscle cell models. Additionally, the transcriptional levels of muscle damage-related target genes were evaluated by qRT-PCR in skeletal muscle cells treated with a selection of RYR samples. Significant variability in the phytochemical composition of RYR samples was observed, particularly in the content of secondary monacolins, triterpenes, and polyphenols. The RYR phytocomplex exhibited superior inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase activity compared to isolated LOV, suggesting synergistic effects between secondary monacolins and other compounds. Molecular insights revealed that RYR samples had a lower impact on muscle cells than LOV, as reflected also by cell viability. These findings suggest that RYR could serve as a safe alternative to purified statins. However, further research is needed to fully elucidate the mechanisms behind the synergistic activity of the phytocomplex and to firmly establish the clinical efficacy of this natural product
Hylotelephium telephium (L) H. Ohba leaves juice improves herpetic lesions: new findings from in vitro investigations
No full textThe efficacy of Hylotelephium telephium (L.) H. Ohba (better known with its botanical synonym Sedum telephium L.) fresh leaf juice in the treatment of Herpes labialis wounds has been reported in traditional medicine in particular in Central regions of Italy; however, scientific insights are missing and the mechanism of action is not well understood. Aim of this study was to investigate the biological properties of S. telephium that underlie its ability to heal herpetic lesions. S. telephium fresh leaf juice (STJ) was analysed to obtain phytochemical information and tested in vitro to evaluate its antiviral activity against HSV-1 in Vero cells, then, according to computational predictions, immunomodulatory properties of STJ in human lympho-monocytes (PBMC), as well as its effect on cell viability in human keratinocytes (HaCaT cells), were also evaluated. Our results, at least in part, may explain the improvement of herpetic lesions empirically observed in patients treated with STJ: such improvement was not related to direct anti-viral effect of the juice but to its experimentally confirmed activity as cell viability booster and immunomodulatory agent
New insights on the application of half‐sandwich complexes with metal–iodide bonds for agricultural fungicides
Full text linkCyclopentadienyl half-sandwich complexes of cobalt and iron with metal–iodide bonds were reported to efficiently inhibit the growth of phytopathogenic fungi. With the aim of investigating the structure/activity relationships, further in vitro experiments were carried out. Cyclic voltammetric characterization, chemical stability, and antiradical activity were performed in two solvents: dimethyl sulfoxide and acetone. The iodide ion removal from the complex appears to be the key point of antifungal activity. Moreover, a preliminary cell viability test on human keratinocytes was also assessed in order to verify the nontoxic effect of tested compounds. The cytotoxicity for all the complexes was comparable with that shown by povidone iodide, a common antifungal agent recognized as safe (IC50 > 300 mM). Furthermore, the work proposes an additional roadmap (sequence of experiments) at the initial antifungal activity tests, which improves insight into their mechanism of action
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Chemical profile, antioxidant, anti-proliferative, anticoagulant and mutagenic effects of a hydroalcoholic extract of Tuscan Rosmarinus officinalis
Full text linkThis study aimed to characterise the chemical profile of an ethanolic extract of Tuscan Rosmarinus officinalis (Roex) and to determine its in vitro bioactivity. The content of phenolic and flavonoid compounds, hydroxycinnamic acids and triterpenoids was determined, and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis revealed that rosmarinic acid and hydroxycinnamic derivatives were the main constituents of the extract. Roex demon-strated to have both antioxidant activity and the capability to scavenge hydrogen peroxide in a concentration dependent manner. Moreover, NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts and human breast ade-nocarcinoma cells MDA-MB-231 viability was influenced by the extract with an IC50 of 2.4x10-1 mg/mL and 4.8x10-1 mg/mL, respectively. The addition of Roex to the culture medium of both the above cell lines, resulted also in the reduction of cell death after H2O2 pretreatment. The Ames test demonstrated that Roex was not genotoxic towards both TA98 and TA100 strains, with and without S9 metabolic activation. At last, the extract, by inactivating thrombin, showed to have also an anti-coagulating effect at low concentration values. All these biological activities are tightly correlated to Roex to phytochemical profile, rich in bioactive compounds
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